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@Te Huna Matata , all that grub looks pretty damned amazing. You certainly know how to cook, what kind of equipment are you using?
Just an electric Smoke Hollow cabinet smoker.
I wanted something basic, cheap, and electric to get my feet wet. Once I have a little more space (I live in a townhouse now) and get a little more comfortable, I'll upgrade. But for now, this is perfect for me. Everything I've done thus far has been what I'd consider restaurant-quality. Except for brisket. 3 tries and I still fuck it up. First time, I let it on too long and the bottom was hard. Like, hard to cut level hard. It was getting close and I ran up to shower quick. By the time I got back down, internal was up over 210. Next 2 times, I pulled a little too soon. I think I'm going to crutch it at a lower temp the next time.
Any Traeger users here?
Are you looking to buy one or do you currently have one?
Are you looking to buy one or do you currently have one?
Just got one
What's your opinion on spritzing ribs, brisket, etc.
What model? Something to note is that Traeger has had an issue with the "Super Smoke" function where it completely shuts off the fan to cook at ~200°. This produces an ungodly amount of soot that gunks up the pit, as well as the food. So if your smoker has that "Super Smoke" option I would highly recommend not using it. Something that pellet cooker users do that kind of baffles me is they like to cook at 185-200° for some reason and I'll never understand it. While those consumer-end pellet smokers say they can cook at that temp I see way too often people experience flameouts. So I would personally recommend not trying to cook at under 225°.
Spritzing is one of those things that I usually do, but in the end I don't think it actually does a whole lot. If you're doing a competition where every single small detail matters then I think it can help with the color, but if you've got a good rub and a good piece of meat you don't really need to spritz at all. I'm a big fan of putting the meat on and not opening the smoking chamber at all for the first couple of hours (type of meat depending). I just put a brisket on and I won't peek at that thing for at least another 4 hours. Cooking on my reverse flow offset at about 275° using pear and pecan wood.... strange mix but it works well.
Spritzing is one of those things that I usually do
Pro series 22. Definitely won't be smoking meats at under 225. I had heard it was better to get pellet smokers to the 250-275 range. Not sure if you had heard anything like that. Is it recommended to use a water pan at all to keep moisture up?
I had an electric masterbuilt and while I eventually figured it out and got good results, I absolutely hated cleaning it. You basically had to scrub the thing wall to wall. I also had a $350 offset charcoal grill, I basically wanted to replace both and that is why I got the Traeger.
I'm going to use it on pork ribs this weekend with the hickory, maple and cheerywood blend of pellets.
hmm.. i never scrub the inside of my masterbuilt.. just the racks and trays..
Pro series 22. Definitely won't be smoking meats at under 225. I had heard it was better to get pellet smokers to the 250-275 range. Not sure if you had heard anything like that. Is it recommended to use a water pan at all to keep moisture up?
I had an electric masterbuilt and while I eventually figured it out and got good results, I absolutely hated cleaning it. You basically had to scrub the thing wall to wall. I also had a $350 offset charcoal grill, I basically wanted to replace both and that is why I got the Traeger.
I'm going to use it on pork ribs this weekend with the hickory, maple and cheerywood blend of pellets.
May I ask what you use?
I read a lot about apple juice stand alone or with vinegar/apple cider vinegar. I'm personally not a fan of apple flavored meats. Also not the biggest fan of strong vinegar sauces. So I worry about those flavors coming through, though I've read it is minimal at best.
I did some brown sugar & rub mix in water once but I was having trouble getting a consistent smoke with the masterbuilt so it wasn't a good test.
Soda spritz sounded interesting to me. Dr pepper, coke or a cherry coke/pepsi.
I’m going to be making a brisket this weekend. First smoke of the year. I’ll update as I go along.
Actually Texas. My schedule has been insane at work. I finally have a good weekend and time to do it.First smoke of the year!? It's fucking May already... haha guessing you're from up north, maybe even Canada?
Smoke" function
I am running the grill now to break it in/flavor, cook off the oil or whatever is in there.
So I can see why people use the smoke setting. Fan still runs but pellets are deposited more frequently. The amount of smoke you get on normal temps is lower than I expected. So if you want a heavy smoke it needs to be on the smoke setting.
But just messing with it I've set it to 275, let it stay there for a couple minutes and then put it on the smoke setting. Currently waiting to see how long it takes to drop below 225. I might do this a few times when smoking meats.